Ditching and terracing attachment for tractors



April 10, 1951 L. s. BERRY 2,548,139

DITCHING AND TERRACING ATTACHMENT FOR TRACTORS Filed June 12, 1947 2Sheets-Sheet 1 ATTORNEY Ap il 10, 1951 L. s. BERRY 2,548,139

DITCHING AND TERRACING ATTACHMENT FOR 'I'RACTORS Filed June 12, 1947 L'2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VEN TOR.

ATTORNEY Laden 5. Berry Patented Apr. 10, 1951 more!) STATES PATENTcrews DITCHING AND TERRACING ATTACHMENT FOR TRAGTDRS Lad-en S. Berry,Plainview, Tex.

Application June ,12, 1947,, Serial vlilo. 75.4 296 This inventionrelates to'earth moving equipment and more particularly to "terracingand ditching attachments for tractors.

'The principal object of the invention is -to pro vide an earth movingblade and a mounting therefor, the latter being ,so designed andconstructed that its attachment to a tractor may be accomplished quicklyand with little effort and in addition to the provision of asemi-circular subframe supporting the "blade -for angular adjustment ona horizontal plane with respect to the longitudinal axis of the mainframe, the latter is provided with a swivel joint intermediate its endswhich permit the blade to be adjusted to a varietyo'f angles ina'vertical plane.

Another object of the inventionjis to jprov'idea terracing and ditchingattachment for tractors in which the blade carrying main frameiispivoted for vertical displacement at its rear end to :raise and lower.the blade, such movement ,lbeing accomplished through the medium of thepower lift mechanism of the tractor.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a terracing andditching attachment for a tractor in which means is provided for notonly predetermining the depth of penetration of the blade but also forsustaining the same in adjusted angular position in a vertical plane.

With the foregoing objects in View, the invention has further referenceto certain features of accomplishment which will become apparent as thedescription proceeds, taken in connection with the accompanying drawingswherein:

Figure 1 is a front perspective view of a tractor showing the inventionmounted thereon.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the invention, per se.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary view of the tractor of Fig. l on an enlargedscale, showing a side elevational view of the invention.

Figure 4 is a perspective detail view of the side torque limiting andadjusting frame.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary perspective view of the main frame and theblade carrying sub-frame, together with the means for holding the latterin adjusted position, and

Figure 6 is a schematic view showing one position of the blade in thesoil.

Continuing with a more detailed description of the drawing, referencenumeral 10 generally denotes a tractor equipped with the conventionalpower lift mechanism which includes a transverse shaft I i, on each endof which is an arm l2.

The main frame of the invention consists of a substantially V-shaped,horizontally disposed member l3 constituting the rear section and toarrangement provides adjustment in the angle or tilt of the earth movingblade to be later identified. To the ends of the beams 14 are attached"the legs of a yoke t5, the inwardly convergent ends 0f the membersforming the yoke embracing a partlii of alswive'l .17. The beams I4 andjyoke i5 constitute the front section of the frame.

"Tension arms T8 are connected to the swivel I! and extend ,aneularlyupward and are secured to theiunderside of the tractor, asshown.Companion bracing arms 1'9 depend from the tractor and support theswivel I! from each side thereof. A transverse rod 20 maintains spacedrelationship of the ends of 'the'beams I' l at their points of junctionwith the legs of the :yoke 1 5.

Secured rigidly to the vertex of the V-shaped member l3 and extendingforwardly between the legs thereof is a channel member 2|. The web ofthis member extends beyond the flanges thereof at its front end to forma tongue 22 (Figure 5). The tongue 22 lies under and supports an arcuateor semi-circular sub-frame 23 formed preferably of angle iron, thehorizontal flange 24 of which is provided with a plurality ofequidistantly spaced holes 25. To the ends of the sub-frame 23 areattached brackets 26, the latter, in turn, supporting a blade 21 havingan interchangeable or replaceable cutting edge 28. A king pin 29 passingvertically through the vertex of the member [3, and the end of member2|, serves as the pivot for the blade 21.

Secured to the tongue 22 of member 2| by bolts 30 is a bracket 3| underwhich the arcuate subframe 23 slides. A rod or pin 32 is passedvertically through a hole in this bracket and enters a hole 25 in thesub-frame,. selectively aligned therewith. The arrangement holds theblade 21 in adjusted angular positions in relation to the longitudinalaxis of the main frame.

The rear portion of the frame is suspended by chains 33, one on eachside, the lower ends being attached to the beams l4 near the rear endsthereof. The upper ends of these chains are adjustably attached to hooks34 (Figure 3) on the shaft I I. By changing links of the chains on thehooks 34 on one side or the other, the angle of the blade 21. is alteredina vertical plane and its depth of penetration may be predetermined inthe same manner.

It is apparent from the foregoing that the blade is attached the lowerend of a chain 36, the up-;

per ends of the chains being adjustably attached to the ends of the armsl2 of the power life mechanism. When the frame is raised and lowered byactuating the power lift mechanism, it pivots on a pin 31, from whichpoint the forward end of the frame is suspended from the tractor by themembers H3 and I9, as described.

In order to limit side movement of the blade 21 in operation, a verticalframe 38 (Figure 4,)

mounted on the transverse angle iron 35. The top member of the frame 38has therein a series of longitudinally aligned holes 39 which are inregister with an equal number of holes 40 in the transverse member 35therebelow and parallel therewith. A pair of rods 4| pass through theholes 39 and 40 from member 38 to member 35 and are replaceable incompanion holes. An angular arm 42 (Figure 3) is pivoted for verticalswinging movement to a mounting 43, attached to the tractor and extendsdownwardly and rearwardly to lie between the vertically disposed andparallel rods 4|. The obvious result is that the degree of side draft ofthe rear portion of the frame is determined by the relative spacing ofthe rods 4| since these rods come up against the arm 42 and arerestricted thereby against further displacement.

Manifestly, the construction as shown and described is capable of somemodification and such modification as may be construed to fall withinthe scope and meaning of the appended claim is also considered to bewithin the spirit and intent of the invention. What is claimed is: In anearth movin attachment for a tractor, a main frame supported under andattached to said tractor for angular movement about a horizontal axisand having on its rear end a substantially V-shaped member, a bladehaving its pivot at the vertex of said member for adjustment to avariety of angles on a horizontal plane in relation to the longitudinalaxis of said main frame, an arcuate sub-frame oscillatable below andsupported by said main frame, the ends of the sub-frame being attachedto the ends of said blade, means for adjusting the depth of penetrationof said blade, a vertical frame on the main frame having horizontallyparallel members, one being provided with apertures in register withapertures in the companion member, vertical rods interchangeablydisposed in said apertures in relative parallelism, and means pivotedfor vertical movement on said tractor and extending between andengageable with said rods to limit side draft of said main frame.

' LADEN S. BERRY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,128,197 Sutphin Feb. 9, 19151,422,753 Dever July 11, 1922 2,140,144 Silver Dec. 13, 1938 2,346,757Horner Apr. 18, 1944 2,428,857 Smith Oct. 14, 1947 2,482,751 Hartsock eta1. Sept. 27, 1949 2,496,760 Watson Feb. 7, 1950 2,505,580 Todd Apr. 25,1950

